Have the Malts, Need the Hops

[yankfan9]

I have the malt selection down for my IPA recipe, but need suggestions on the hops. I don't want to go to the LHBS and buy hops if I don't have to, so here is what I have on hand. Would any of these make for a good IPA? If not I guess I CAN go to the LHBS to supplement what I have I like IPA's with the typical grapefruit citrus type flavor but don't like overly bitter ones.

1/2 oz Columbus
2 oz Summit (Never used these before, how do they taste?)
1 oz Citra
1/2 oz Amarillo
2 oz Strisselspalt
1/2 oz Liberty
1 oz hallertau

and some other noble german hops and other low AA varieties I can't think of right now.

Oh and the malts I am thinking of using are this

10 lb american 2 row
1 lb honey malt (never used but sounds like it could make for an interesting taste)
.5 lbs carapils

All suggestions for any part of this are open

[BeerRust]

I have a similar post right now in basic recipes section. With the help and suggestions of others I have a recipe using Cascade and Amarillo. Also using Pale LME and Extra Pale DME, steeping Cystal 10. I had originally had Honey Malt in there. But decided not to go with that. It's was suggested that the Honey Malt would add some sweetness , and cut into the hops.

[philm00x]

citra and amarillo stand out to me for an IPA, based on what you've got. never used either, but I understand citra has a potent passion fruit aroma and amarillo lends some orange/grapefruit and spice.

[Beer-lord]

Citra, Amarillo, Columbus and Summit are used all the time in IPA's. I'm relatively new with Summit and though I like what it brings to an IPA, I've found that it's best for the FWH or 60 minute addition.
I would use Citra and Amarillo for the flavoring and aroma additions as well as dry hop. You really are at the bottom level of hop quantity so I would use 1 oz of Summit at 60 minutes then the oz of Citra at 20, the 1/2 of Columbus and Amarillo at 10 and I'm not really sure about flameout. You say you have other hops, what are they?

Malts....use Honey Malt sparingly, no more than 5 or 6 oz until you get to know it. It can take over the flavor fast.

[BlackDuck]

As Inkleg says it.....IPA TEAM, ASSEMBLE!!! I second what Beer-lord says. In addition to his comments, the Citra will also work well as a bittering addition too. Other than that, I really can't add much more.

[yankfan9]

Ah here are the other, they were hiding

1/2 oz czech saaz
1/2 oz willamette
3 oz magnum whole leaf
2 oz kent goldings whole leaf
2 oz fuggles

BeerLord you said in another post you used honey malt in an RCE recipe. Was the flavor prominent? How much did you use? If I were to use it in this with say 8 oz, would that settle it? No need to add any crystal since I am lowering the amount of honey malt? Thanks for all the suggestions so far!

[Beer-lord]

In the Deep Ellum IPA, in 5 gallons I used 4.5 oz and it did have a mild sweetness I wasn't expecting. In my own recipe, Premature Hopulation, in 6 gallons, I used 8 oz and wished I hadn't. I also used some Nugget hops that I never used before so that stood out to me but not in a bad way. I think the 8 oz was twice as much as I should have and gave it a bit too much sweetness that battled with the hops. I would think it's better suited to some darker beers that aren't hop bombs. I would suggest substituting it with some crystal 40 or 60 if you have some of that. It's suggested to use Honey Malt as only 5% or less of your grain bill and I would suggest less than that for an IPA.

Magnum is best used as a bittering hop. It can be pretty bitter to some so maybe you could either use 1 oz as First Wort Hop or 3/4 oz at 60 minutes if you don't like a bitter IPA. Williamette will work well as a dry hop too.

[haerbob3]

Summit
Aroma = Citrus orange, tangerine, grapefruit, some minimal onion & garlic
Flavor = Citrus with some nice earthiness to balance things out

Alpha Acid = 16% - 18%
Beta Acid = 3% - 4%
Chohumulone Acid = 26% - 33%

Common styles = Pale Ale, IPA, Hoppy Wheats, Amber Ales & Stouts

I agree with BL about doing a First Wort Hopping. That will give you a nice solid balanced bittering.